Author Archives: Ben Hsu
MOTORSPORT: The hakosuka Skyline GT-R at its absolute peak
By the end of 1971 racing season, the Skyline GT-R was barreling towards its highly anticipated 50th victory in Japan’s hotly contested touring car races. The GT-R had enjoyed three years of domination but, as history knows, the planning for that much publicized 50th win would all … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport, Video
Tagged c10, capella, fuji gc, fuji speedway, gt-r, Hakosuka, kpgc10, kunimitsu takahashi, mazda, Motoharu Kurosawa, nissan, rx-2, skyline, Yoshimi Katayama
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QotW: Which JNC was the one that got away?
Life with cars is cruel as it is in dating. Sometimes, you just don’t know you how good you have it until it’s gone. Or, maybe those are the lucky ones, because they actually had some time with their soul … Continue reading
VIDEO: Behind the scenes at Toyota’s Calty design studio
We all know that cars are designed, but what is “design,” exactly? A new video released by Toyota aims to answer that question via a history and tour of their Calty design studio. Toyota was the first Japanese automaker to open … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged a40, calty, celica, fj cruiser, FT-1 Concept, lexus sc, supra, toyota
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Happy Mountain Day from JNC
Happy Mountain Day from JNC! If you’ve never heard of Mountain Day, a national holiday in Japan, don’t feel bad. Over a third of actual Japanese people have no idea it exists either. To be fair, it’s a new holiday — so new, … Continue reading
PIXELATED: A Datsun Cherry stars in the most realistic car simulator ever created
Forget Sega GT. Forget Forza. Forget Gran Turismo. Though we haven’t even played it yet, we’re beyond certain that the most realistic car simulator ever created is My Summer Car, a Finnish game where you restore an E10 Datsun Cherry one frustrating part at a time.
VIDEO: Corolla Matsuri 2016 goes all-out 80s on VHS tape
By now you’re all familiar with the typical drift video — dramatic hi-def footage of heat waves coming off of the tarmac, wheels being mounted, zipties being zipped, and cars sliding in slow-mo to the beat of electronica. This is … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged ae86, corolla, corolla levin, Corolla Matsuri, hachiroku, sprinter trueno, toyota
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NIHON LIFE: Get free tea when you climb into a Suntory taxi
Today is National Taxi Day in Japan, a date chosen to commemorate the start of the country’s first cab service in 1912. As it happens, this month Suntory is making Japan’s notoriously hospitable taxis even more so, by giving passengers a complementary … Continue reading
QotW: What’s your best Japanese taxi story?
August 5 is National Taxi Day in Japan. It marks the start of operations for Japan’s very first taxi, which occurred on August 5, 1912. As those who have visited the motherland may know, Japan’s taxis are some of the … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2016 Nissan Jam, Part 03 — Editors’ Choice
We’ve saved the best for last in our 2016 Nissan Jam coverage. It wasn’t easy choosing our favorites, but the cars in this post, for one reason or another, caught the eyes of the JNC staff that attended the show.
EVENTS: 2016 Nissan Jam, Part 02 — All Odds
In the first installment of our 2016 Nissan Jam coverage, we focused on the most popular of the Nissan family tree. The “cool kids” club included Skylines, Zs, 510s, 620s, and Fairlady roadsters, but Nissan has a deep history of other models that … Continue reading
COLLECTIONS: Autech restores classic Nissan Caravan built for disabled passengers
Every August since 1978, Japan’s NTV network has put on a 24-hour telethon called 24HTV Love Saves the Earth to raise money for charity. It will soon be held again, and to mark the occasion Autech has restored a 1978 Nissan Caravan used in the … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the best JNC camper conversion?
It’s summer, and thus camping season for much of North America. And as we all know, JNCs have had their share of camper conversions. What’s the best one for hitting the highways and heading to the great outdoors? What’s the best JNC … Continue reading
NEWS: The millionth Miata tour dates announced
Earlier this year, the one millionth Miata rolled off the assembly line. Think about that for a moment. One million drivers have been able to experience a true connection to the road and undiluted driving thrills for a price that … Continue reading
NEWS: Revived Supra to use Toyota-developed twin-turbo V6?
More evidence is emerging that a Mark V Supra will soon be upon us. And this time, Toyotaku will be pleased to hear that the motor could be something Toyota is developing on their own.
Posted in Uncategorized
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VIDEO: Honda Serial One N600 update
Honda has been serving up a steady stream of videos documenting the restoration of the Serial One N600, the first Honda car built for the US market. The good news is that the videos have been getting longer, so we can … Continue reading
VIDEO: Wheeler Dealers flips a Honda Civic CVCC
In the most recent episode of Wheeler Dealers, hosts Mike Brewer and Edd China leave the UK and head to the sunny climes of Los Angeles. There, they pick up a well worn first-gen yellow (aren’t they all?) Honda Civic, … Continue reading
QotW: What’s the best Japanese getaway car?
Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. but when a heist goes down, it’s a big one. As in, the kind you need a getaway car or two to pull off. A getaway car has to be … Continue reading
SHOP LIFE: A visit to Mooneyes Area 1
When recent travels took us to Yokohama, our resident illustrator and Japan native San Mamiya suggested that we meet up and go to Mooneyes Area 1. It had been a few years since we’d visited the Japanese headquarters of Mooneyes, and there’s always … Continue reading
Posted in Shop Life
Tagged ae86, Buick Riviera, corolla levin, crown, daihatsu, Ford Country Squire, gt-r, hiace, hilux, kawasaki, Mercury Cougar, Meyers Manx, midget, mooneyes, ms51, nissan, r32, s50, skyline, sprinter trueno, stout, town ace, toyota
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VIDEO: The UK’s only Cosmonaut
Rotorhead. Mazdafarian. Cosmonaut. Whatever you want to call him, Phil Blake is the UK’s only Cosmo Sport owner. And apropos of nothing, Mazda Europe has just released a video of him driving his car along the Scottish North Coast 500, … Continue reading
QotW: Which JNC had really low production numbers?
Sometimes market forces create strange anomalies. We all know the story about how Nissan built only 197 kenmeri Skyline GT-Rs before the racing program got canceled, but there are other instances that resulted in cars just as rare. For example, while … Continue reading
